Tulane women's basketball team looks to end home skid in game vs. UTEP

Fogelman Arena hasn’t been too kind to the Tulane women’s basketball team since Conference USA play began this season.

Chris Granger/The Times-PicayuneTiffany Aidoo leads Tulane with an average of 14.3 points per game.

The Green Wave has lost its past two home conference games in overtime, and even the wins at home have been a little too close for comfort.

Tulane squeezed out a four-point win over SMU to open its home conference schedule, then pulled away late for a 10-point win against East Carolina on Jan. 13.

Then an admitted lack of late intensity caught up with Tulane in losses to Southern Mississippi and Rice in overtime. Now the Green Wave (16-4 overall, 5-2) is trying to end a two-game home conference skid when it faces pesky Texas-El Paso this afternoon at Fogelman Arena.

Tulane Coach Lisa Stockton doesn’t necessarily think it’s a home game vs. road game conflict, but the results point in that direction. The Green Wave has pummeled each of its three conference foes on the road this season with 28-, 30- and 14-point wins over UAB, Marshall and Tulsa.

“Right now with the conference schedule, I think you’re just getting certain teams at home and certain teams on the road,” Stockton said. “I thought our win over SMU was a really good win. In the last two minutes, we closed that one out.

“It was a two-point game with three minutes left, then we pushed it to seven and never looked back. The last two overtime games, we haven’t been able to do that. That’s something that we have to get back, because that’s our strength.”

Tiffany Aidoo, who leads Tulane with an average of 14.3 points per game, said it’s about the intensity level and less about the venue. She said that can’t happen against UTEP (12-7, 4-3).

“I don’t even know if there is a difference (comparing play at home to on the road),” Aidoo said. “We just have to come out and play from the start like how we’re going to typically finish a game. That’s about it.”

Opponents have made many of the home conference games more of a high-scoring affair. Forward Brittany Lindsey, who’s coming off a 20-point game in the loss to Rice on Thursday, said the Green Wave is in need of a defensive clamp-down.

“I think the biggest thing is that on the road, we’ve been able to keep their biggest scorers low,” Lindsey said. “In our last two home losses, we haven’t been able to keep the score low. That’s just not the way to win ballgames, especially in conference when everyone is coming after us.”

Stockton added: “I think people are playing really well against us. People are coming into (Fogelman Arena), and they have nothing to lose. The target is on your back, and we have to be ready for people’s best nights. ... I’m glad we have a quick turnaround.”